Seal your ears for pain-free open water swimming

Have you ever experienced swimmers ear – that pain you get in your ears after swimming?

It could’ve been from swimming so much, or the water being freezing cold, maybe the water was dodgy, or maybe your ears are just a little bit precious, whatever it was, it wasn’t nice and you definitely don’t want it to happen again, right?

Well, you’ll be happy to know there’s now a preventative treatment that isn’t having to wear earplugs!

SwimSeal is an ear drop that coats the ear canal and prevents water from being trapped and causing infection – the leading cause of ‘swimmers ear’.

This is a fantastic product, because up until now if you didn’t wear earplugs (who does/wants to?!) you had to use treatment – usually alcohol-based – after you swam, in the hope you were preventing swimmers ear developing.

Now we have a preventative action (a lot like preventing a drowning before having to perform a rescue) which is easy to use and very effective.

SwimSeal ear drops come in a little applicator bottle and you simply place 2-3 drops into each ear before water exposure.

It’s a natural product containing Australian Tea Tree Oil, and no alcohol – and can be used in children’s and adults ears.

OceanFit’s SwimSeal trial

I tried SwimSeal on our Wild swimming and training camp down in Killalea at the end of summer and I was instantly impressed.

Applying the ear drops was easy, and I could feel the slick forming inside my ears straight away. The drops didn’t affect my hearing, and I even felt like I had this invisible barrier around me heading into the water.

I didn’t notice the drops while swimming (which is a good thing), and when I exited the water I was able to rid the water in my ear (that was sitting on top of the seal) by gently shaking my head from side to side.

I liked the idea that I didn’t need to get a tissue and poke deep into my ear to clear the water, and it was overall no-fuss.

I’ve since used the drops when surfing, and I’ve had the same great experiences.

More about swimmers ear

Swimmers ear is a painful condition resulting from inflammation, irritation, or infection that affects the outer ear. Symptoms often occur after water gets trapped in your ear, with subsequent spread of bacteria or fungal organisms.

Because this condition commonly affects swimmers, it is known as swimmers ear. SwimmerÍs ear is known to be problematic for those with eczema, or who experience excess earwax.

If you’re experiencing pain in your ears, you should consult your doctor.

For more information visit www.swimseal.com.au or ask at your local pharmacy.

SwimSeal provided the samples for this product review.

First published in June 2017